Sumit
Hakhoo
Tribune
News Service
Jammu,
April 27
Once
an important part of the rural life in the Jammu region, traditional
“talabs” (ponds) have slowly given in to rapid urbanisation,
particularly in the Kandi area.
While
most have been turned into garbage dumps, others have been encroached
upon by people right under the nose of the administration.
Till
a few decades ago, ponds and ditches were visible all around the city
and formed an important water buffer, particularly during the summer.
However, people seldom use these now due to their poor condition.
“Around
20 years ago, people used water drawn from ponds for their day-to-day
activities. But the pond in our locality has now turned filthy, as
people dump garbage in it,” says Rajesh Sharma, a resident of
Bantalab.
“The
importance of this water body can be gauged from the fact that our
area gets its name from it,” he says.
Most
people in Jammu attribute the deteriorating condition of these ponds
to influx of people from other regions of the state who have
constructed houses by setting up new localities.
“In
the Jammu region, these water bodies are associated with village
deities. But once new localities come into being, their inhabitants
have little emotional attachment to these water bodies and use them
as garbage dumps,” says Indu Paul from Raipur village.
At
many places, greed for land has also contributed to the demise of
ponds. “The pond in our area was filled with earth to reclaim land
and was subsequently put up for sale. We approached the municipal
corporation and the Jammu Development Authority but to no avail,”
said Ashwani Kumar, a resident of Paloura.
A
year ago, the municipal corporation announced a major project to save
and beautify the traditional water bodies falling under its
jurisdiction. However, its results are nowhere to be seen, given the
conditions of ponds in the city.
MC
Commissioner KL Khajuria was not available for comments.
No comments:
Post a Comment